THE first accidental killer sentenced under a new Territory law will spend at least three years behind bars.

Esau Pascoe, 34, faced a maximum 16 years in prison for violent conduct causing death when he admitted kicking his “nanna” Annette Bengarra, 51, in the head in a fight about grog at Nightcliff. Justice Peter Barr said the offence, established in the criminal code in December 2012, covers “unique cases where a violent act causes death” when a murder or manslaughter conviction is unlikely.

“The fact of death does not have to be intended or foreseen for the offence to be made out,” he said.

The victim and her partner Geoffrey Wilson had gone to sleep on the beach when Pascoe came and took some of their alcohol to share with his girlfriend some time before 11pm on October 10, 2013.